Who doesn’t love the smell of fall – warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg along with fragrant apples? Spiderweb Shortcake is an easy dessert to make for your annual Halloween BOO-ffet, or just for a great dessert during October. Since the filling is made in the slow cooker, the house will smell wonderful; the shortcake biscuits can be assembled early and baked just before serving. The filling is mostly apples, but there are raisins and dates which represent whatever your spider has caught in her web.

Halloween cookie cutters are available at department and specialty stores. If you are having trouble finding a spiderweb cookie cutter, I found almost any shape you could ever want online at Cookiecutter.com. You can also draw a web on paper and use that as a stencil.

8 Servings

Apple Filling:
6 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2" chunks
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 teaspoon ground mixed spice, or baking spice
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Shortcakes:
2 cups flour
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2/3 cup whipping cream

Heavy whipping cream

Butter

1. Apple Filling: Place the apples in the crock of a 2-3 quart slow cooker; toss with the remaining ingredients.
2. Cover, set the slow cooker to low, and let cook until the apples are tender, 4-6 hours. If it's convenient, stir once or twice during cooking. If the mixture is too thick, stir in a little water.
3. When the apples are tender, stir well, and set the slow cooker to warm while preparing the shortcakes.
4. Shortcakes: Preheat the oven to 400º.
5. Mix the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
6. Cut the butter into pieces and cut it into the flour mixture until it looks like small peas.
7. Mix the egg and whipping cream, pour into the flour mixture, and mix well.
8. Transfer the mixture to a floured surface and pat or roll into a large rectangle about 1/2" thick.
9. Using a spiderweb cutter or stencil, cut spiderwebs from the dough, rerolling the scraps as necessary.
10. Place the webs on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
11. Use a teaspoon to drizzle concentric circles of heavy cream on the dough.
12. Run a skewer through the circles from the center to each edge to resemble a web.
13. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake the shortcakes 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
14. Assembly: Spoon a generous amount of apple filling in a serving dish; top with a warm web shortcake and add some butter or cream on top.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 528 Calories from Fat 185
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 35% Protein 4% Carb. 61%

Nutrient Amount per Serving:
Total Fat 21 g
Saturated Fat 12 g
Cholesterol 85 mg
Sodium 414 mg
Total Carbohydrate 80 g
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Sugars 8 g
Protein 5 g

Vitamin A 17% Vitamin C 15% Calcium 0% Iron 8%